The deal, under which Kyiv would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the US, is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia’s war, with US-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv set to continue on Thursday.
Dozens of dignitaries walked out of Russia’s speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday in support of Ukraine.
Russian and US diplomats would meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, said both sides on Wednesday.
Ukraine set to sign minerals deal with US
Ukraine said on Wednesday it was set to approve a framework minerals deal with the US but that its success would depend on talks with President Donald Trump.
The deal, under which Kyiv would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the US, is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia’s war, with US-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv set to continue on Thursday.
Trump confirmed Zelensky would visit Washington on Friday but suggested the US would not be making far-reaching security guarantees. Kyiv has been seeking US security guarantees as part of the deal, cast by Trump as a payment for US aid to Kyiv during the war.
“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond — very much. We’re going to have Europe do that,” said Trump, without elaborating.
Zelensky said the most important thing was that the current draft did not cast Ukraine as a debtor that would have to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars for past military assistance.
“This agreement could be part of future security guarantees ... an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the broader vision,” he said in Kyiv.
“This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”
He said it would be a success if the US became a provider of security guarantees for Ukraine, which wants protection from future Russian attacks if a peace deal is reached.
Fighting has continued in Ukraine during the flurry of diplomacy, with Ukraine frequently coming under attack from Russian missiles and drones in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Trump said on Tuesday that Zelensky wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a “very big deal”.
Zelensky said both sides were still working on organising the visit and a White House official on Wednesday raised doubts about whether the visit would go ahead, but Trump later said again that Zelensky would visit on Friday.
Trump has been fiercely critical of Zelensky as he upended US policy on the war, calling him a “dictator” and ending a campaign to isolate Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Delegates walk out of Russia’s speech to UN Human Rights Council
Dozens of dignitaries walked out of Russia’s speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday in support of Ukraine.
The delegates, including the ambassadors of France, Germany and Britain, gathered outside the room where the session was taking place to mark three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Our support for Ukraine is ironclad. We want to see a just and enduring peace in line with the UN charter,” said Britain’s ambassador to the UN and World Trade Organization, Simon Manley.
“Ukraine has to be at the negotiating table,” said Manley, who walked out of the speech as it started.
“If we let slide what happened with Ukraine without reacting … we would open the door to a disintegration of fundamental principles on which the UN was founded,” said France’s ambassador Jerome Bonnafont.
Washington’s seat at the Human Rights Council was empty after Trump’s decision to quit the body, which is the only intergovernmental organisation that protects human rights.
In his speech to the council, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin accused Ukraine of a “flagrant violation of fundamental human rights”, accusing it of Russophobia.
“Securing human rights and freedoms is incompatible with double standards,” added Vershinin.
Ukraine’s representative criticised Russia for defying international law.
“The aggressor should be punished, aggression should not be rewarded,” Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mariana Betsa, told the council.
After her speech, she told Reuters there should be no bilateral talks with Russia.
“The EU should be present and the US. Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” she said, adding that Ukraine needed clear security guarantees.
Russia-US talks set for Thursday in Turkey
Russian and US diplomats would meet in Istanbul on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions, seen as a step towards ending the war in Ukraine, said both sides on Wednesday.
The talks come as the administration of Trump reversed his predecessor Joe Biden’s policy to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and instead focus on restoring ties with Moscow and ending the three-year war with Kyiv.
The rapprochement began after a call between presidents Vladimir Putin and Trump on 12 February, followed by a high-level meeting between the two sides last week in Riyadh.
Delegations led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed in Saudi Arabia to open discussions on diplomatic missions.
The warming of ties between Washington and Moscow has alarmed European allies.
The US State Department said Thursday’s talks, which will be led by working level officials, would not include any discussions on Ukraine but would still be seen as a test of Moscow’s desire to genuinely engage.
“To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda,” said a State Department spokesperson.
“The constructiveness of these talks will become apparent very quickly; either issues will get resolved or they won’t. We will know soon if Russia is really willing to engage in good faith,” added the spokesperson.
Earlier, Lavrov said the talks would focus on creating better conditions for Russian diplomats in the US and their US counterparts in Russia, after a series of rows over staffing levels and embassy properties. The outcome “will show how quickly and effectively we can move”, said Lavrov.
Trump has said he wants to move quickly towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, but Putin this week tempered expectations of rapid progress, saying nothing could be achieved without restoring trust between Russia and the US.
The US delegation will be led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter; the Russian delegation by Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the North Atlantic Department, Aleksandr Darchiyev.
The two countries have expelled diplomats and limited the appointment of new staff at each other’s missions in a series of tit-for-tat measures over the past decade, leaving their respective embassies thinly staffed.
“Our high-level diplomats, experts, will meet and consider the systemic problems that have accumulated as a result of the illegal activities of the previous [US] administration to create artificial obstacles for the activities of the Russian embassy, to which we, naturally, reciprocated and also created uncomfortable conditions for the work of the American embassy in Moscow,” said Lavrov.
The State Department spokesperson said the respective embassies in Moscow and Washington, as well as Russian consulates in New York and Houston, would be discussed on Thursday, but not Russia’s mission to the United Nations.
“Specific issues on the agenda include staffing levels, visas, diplomatic banking and other operational issues.”
US abstains from WTO condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine
The US on Wednesday abstained from a statement by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, a diplomatic source and a Geneva trade official told Reuters.
It was the first time the US had not supported the statement that has been issued each year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in another signal of a shift in ties with Russia.
Forty-four WTO members and Ukraine signed it, including the European Union, Britain, Canada and Australia.
“The decision not to co-sponsor was made in keeping with our position in the United Nations Security Council and UN General Assembly earlier this week,” a US official told Reuters.
The Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution that took a neutral position on the conflict — highlighting the dramatic change in Washington’s position since Trump took office in January.
The WTO statement condemned the devastating impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on people’s lives and Ukraine’s economy.
“We are gravely concerned about the consequences of this destruction for Ukraine and for global trade”, including the supply of agricultural products, fertilisers and minerals from Ukraine to international markets, it added.
UK plans Ukraine talks and Trump debrief with European leaders
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Sunday host leaders of Italy, Germany, Poland and other allies to discuss their response to Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine that has forced a radical rethink of the continent’s security.
The US president has seemingly abandoned the US’s more Ukraine-friendly approach to Russia’s war, blindsiding much of Europe by telling them they must raise defence spending and take responsibility for their own security.
Sunday’s meeting comes shortly after Starmer returns from crunch talks with Trump in Washington, where the British leader is hoping his pledge to increase the defence budget will help preserve close relations between the two allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron met Trump earlier this week as part of European efforts to convince Trump not to rush a ceasefire deal with Putin, keep Europe and Ukraine involved and discuss military guarantees to Ukraine.
Starmer said on Tuesday he would host a number of countries “to continue to discuss how we go forward together as allies in light of the situation that we face”.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he expected to join Starmer in London on Sunday. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are also expected to attend, and Dutch media reports said Prime Minister Dick Schoof would also be there.
Ukraine attacks Russian oil refinery
The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday it had attacked Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea coast and that at least 40 explosions had been recorded at the site.
Tuapse is home to one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries, which has been targeted by Ukrainian drones several times before.
The Ukrainian military also said it had attacked two military airfields in Russia-controlled Crimea but gave no further details on any of the attacks.
Earlier, Russia said it had downed 83 Ukrainian drones overnight over its southern Krasnodar region, including the port of Tuapse, adding that some houses there had been damaged, though it made no reference to the oil refinery.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that three residential houses had been damaged across the region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that the international airport at Sochi, some 150km southeast of Tuapse, had been briefly closed to air traffic to ensure air safety.
The Russian Defence Ministry said a total of 128 Ukrainian drones had been downed over Russian territory overnight.
Russia’s Shot news Telegram channel reported that Ukrainian drones appeared to have aimed at the port area of Tuapse and that residents had heard about 40 explosions in what they said sounded like air defence systems in operation. DM